Kroger announces senior leaders, new divisions

June 24, 2013

The Kroger Co. has named Rick Going president of the company's new Nashville division, Calvin Kaufman president of the new Louisville division, Jayne Homco president of the Michigan division, and Erin Sharp group vice president of Kroger manufacturing.

"Rick, Calvin, Jayne and Erin bring to their new roles a passion for customers and proven experience leading teams to deliver consistently strong performance," Rodney McMullen, Kroger's president and chief operating officer, said in a press release. "Their leadership will help us build on our customer first strategy to enhance customer loyalty, accelerate our growth and deliver shareholder value."

Kroger also announced the establishment of two new supermarket divisions, a Nashville, TN, division and a Louisville, KY, division.

"Opportunities for growth in Tennessee, northern Alabama, Kentucky and Southern Illinois and Indiana inspired us to take this path," McMullen said. "We believe this move will enable our associates to do what they do best – meet the needs of our local customers and neighbors, our communities, and each other."

Going, currently president of the Michigan division, has been named president of Kroger's new Nashville division.

He joined the company in 1981 and has held a number of leadership positions at the store, district and division level before advancing to his current position in 2007.

The Nashville division will include more than 11,800 associates working in 63 stores in the Nashville area and 28 stores in the Knoxville, TN, and Huntsville, AL, markets.

Kaufman, currently group vice president of Kroger manufacturing, has been named president of the company's new Louisville division. He joined Kroger in 1994 and has served in a variety of leadership roles, including as Kroger's senior director of logistics, before he was named to his current role in 2007.

The Louisville division will include nearly 15,000 associates working in 98 Kroger stores in Kentucky, southern Illinois and southern Indiana.

Homco, currently vice president of merchandising for Kroger's Southwest Division, has been promoted to president of the Michigan Division. She replaces Going. Homco joined Kroger in 1978. She was promoted to vice president of merchandising for the company's QFC division in 2004 and took on her current role in 2007.

The Michigan division includes nearly 16,000 associates working in 129 Kroger supermarkets in Michigan.

Sharp, currently vice president of operations for Kroger manufacturing, has been promoted to group vice president of Kroger manufacturing. She replaces Kaufman.

She joined Kroger in 2011 in her current role. Previously, she served as vice president of manufacturing for the Sara Lee Corp. In that role, Sharp led manufacturing and logistics operations for the central region of their U.S. Fresh Bakery Division. In her new role, Sharp will oversee approximately 7,000 associates working in 37 food processing plants in the United States.